Analysis: God of War Ragnarök

This is a short essay I wrote for a school assignment. (Introduction to Video Games Creation, free of charge)

Analysis of the game I play now

God of War Ragnarök

God of War is a hack and slash/beat ’em up game series which began in 2005. In 2018 the series re invented itself with its 8th installment, simply titled God of War. For the first time in the series there are two protagonists, Kratos and his son Atreus.

I had never heard about this game series until God of War (2018). I got it for free on PS5 collection, and still didn’t play it. The genre simply doesn’t interest me. Only after seeing my online friend stream the game I became curious about it (”if she likes it it must be good”), and started to play it in March 2021 .

And then I fell in love with the game. Why?

God of War’s gameplay is mostly fighting against hordes of enemies, which I hate. It also has some simple puzzles, which I don’t like.

But for me the heart of the game are the characters, their relationship and the story. A single father trying to rise his son after the loss of the boy’s mother. The story is heartbreaking.

So even when the genre and gameplay aren’t your thing with the right elements a game can hit the right chords, and make it a great experience for the player.

After some delays came the sequel, God of War Ragnarök, in November 2022. After waiting for the price to drop I now finally got the game in November 2023.

Ragnarök continues the previous game’s story. It has the same mechanics as its precursor, in good and in bad. But for the first time you can also play as Atreus, who is my favorite character. But unfortunately this means some things I don’t like.

I was disappointed that in Ragnarök Kratos and Atreus spend a lot less time together. For me these two games are all about their relationship and their journey, and in my opinion Ragnarök suffers from their separation.

In general this sequel has less of the elements I appreciate in a game, and more of those I don’t like. As I have become older I want my games to be easy, and if I keep dying and having to play the same part over and over again, I easily get frustrated. And in Ragnarök there are many tough bosses to fight. It’s my understanding that this is what majority of the players wanted for this sequel. When it comes to gaming it feels like I’m in a minority in many ways with my opinions.

If there’s gonna be a third part in this new God of War series, I really have to think carefully should I get it. If I don’t want to fight against hordes of enemies, then what’s the point? Even if I care about what happens to the father and son.

And now there are even some nasty rumors that next time these two characters will be in their separate games. So if my favorite aspect about these games will be gone, it’s time to say goodbye.